When fashion gets political

Courtesy PhotoFeathers on the runway. The same, better, or worse than fur?

News coverage of fashion and politics isn't limited just to the snide observations about which politico ladies look frumpy in their pantsuits or who showed "too much cleavage."

In a fashion world where feathers and fur are forecast as major trends for the fall, there's plenty of cause for style to intersect with politics. There is some debate as to whether feathers -- which were all over the runways at New York Fashion Week last month -- are less cruel than fur.

Typically, they are a by-product of meat manufacturing and given a pass, like leather. That of course does little to, um, smooth the feathers of animal rights activists.

Certainly, the use of feathers is not on par with, say, seal clubbing, a practice that is fairly reviled universally and getting tons of press in recent weeks.

Dreamy fashion photographer and "America's Next Top Model" judge Nigel Barker recently atoned for being a reality TV star when he traveled to Canada to photograph baby seals and speak out on the annual hunt, which takes place in March or April (dependent on the ice melt).
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Courtesy PhotoPETA and the Humane Society don't have to work hard to find a cute poster child in the fight against ending seal clubbing.